An example of how quantitative research methods and qualitative methods can complement each other in the service of inquiring into classroom learning environments. (Author/MLF)

A review of observational and discourse analysis research argues that observational research is bound by a characteristics discourse with roots in early anthropological descriptions of education and suggests that, while observational methodologies and techniques have changed, the discourse of observation has always served to promote a single view…

Important aspects of field research in education were discussed at this seminar. A wide spectrum of topics included the theoretical foundations of field methodology, information gathering, access, validity, reliability, interpretation and explanation, limits of methods, ethical issues, and approaches to write-up and presentation of data. Four…

This final report presents and discusses a model for an ethnographic study of a K-12 public educational system. To develop the model the author investigated the structure and process of a small, rural educational system. The purpose of the research was the refinement of educational anthropology observation methods and classroom sampling…

The author notes a trend in educational research away from the scientific model and toward new designs emphasizing process, context, personal, and qualitative concerns. He describes the approach he uses at Stanford, educational connoisseurship or educational criticism, and outlines its basic components: discernment, description, interpretation,…

Discusses a segment of research which involved both participant and non-participant observation from September 1967 to January 1970 of the school, home, and peer experiences of a group of approximately 30 black children, emphasizing the problem of alleviating the suspicion and winning the trust of the teachers and principals in the elementary…

This research investigates the rules by which three Montessori teachers -- a head teacher and two student teachers -- attribute causes of student and teacher behavior within and outside their classrooms. Availability information is given in SO 504 073. (Author/RM)

In this paper a rationale for the use of non-participant observation in curriculum development is presented. An assessment of the University of Georgia Anthropology Curriculum Project's Race, Caste, and Prejudice (RCP) provides a case example of the use of this qualitative model in educational research. The researcher's assessment of RCP focuses…

This research inquires whether an ethnographic (descriptive anthropology) approach to the study of teaching could yield new insights into the teaching-learning process. (MM)

In reference to a preceding article by Bogdan, outlines an "alternative model" for the teaching of educational fieldwork to graduate students. The course described is an introduction to fieldwork based on the concept of the classroom as the most fundamental unit in contemporary educational systems. (GC)

The uses of various research designs in educational research are discussed. Research methodologies such as social anthropology, path analysis, classroom observation, historiography, interaction analysis, and statistical analysis are described. The educational settings in which each of them would be an effective research tool are illustrated. (JD)

Approaches to educational research are grouped into five major categories. The process-product approach correlates teacher behavior with student achievement. Aptitude-treatment-interaction researchers believe that their research will identify instructional methods that are particularly suitable for students with specific aptitudes. Researchers in…

Argues for the application of traditional anthropological ethnography in the study of formal education and for broadening the scope of such studies. Suggests an ecological framework that permits a multilevel application of ethnography in formal education. (Author/GC)

Cultural event analysis assists traditional social science methodologies--ethnographies and survey instruments--in the study of urban life. Testing a hypothesis--that educational problems arise and persist for Puerto Rican youth because of contrast, contrariety, and noncomplementarity between the cultural forms and patterns of their home life and…